This was our first ever large ship cruise, and I admit that we were a bit apprehensive. But it was wonderful. We have always wanted to see the Scandinavian capitals and especially St. Petersburg, Russia. We got the opportunity this year and booked the Celebrity Century June 27, 2006 sailing for 12 days out of Amsterdam and return. Frequent flyer miles got us to Brussels from US west coast. Train to Amsterdam where we pre-extended for 3 great days. All in all, we are very happy with the result of the trip. I dont know how, but we were upgraded from a window (guaranteed) to a veranda. Not at all hard to take.
We are primarily interested in the history and cultural background of the ports. We basically looked at the ship as a conveyance to get us to the various ports of call. A very nice conveyance at that. But to us, the ship was not the trip, as it is for some folks. (Some did not disembark, even at St. Petersburg. That amazed us.) To each his own, just trying to give some background on me.
The food was terrific, as one might expect, and the service was impeccable. For dinner we always went to the formal dining room. We enjoyed our table mates. I wore the tux on the three formal nights, and enjoyed it. On hindsight, we would change from the second seating. The late hour and early rising for shore trips were tiring for us. Sorry to say, we took in no entertainment. Stopped in on one, and found it mediocre at best. Never went back. Probably missed something good.